The ASC is designed to add depth to the excellent training and experience provided in fellowship. Non-surgical topics that underpin cochlear implantation are emphasized along with advanced surgical techniques such as hearing preservation, adaptive cochleostomy, controlling the three critical electrode insertion vectors, ossification, dysplasia, and very young children.

14 Weekly Modules

Recorded Lectures

Knowledge Assessments

Instructor-monitored Discussion Board

Allows individuals to interact with the instructors and fellow participants - to ask questions and share experiences

Live web classes

8:30 - 9:30 PM EST | 5:30 - 6:30 PM PST

Web-cam audio and video using Blackboard

Review and emphasize major points, case discussions, Q&A

Hands-on Microsurgery Temporal Bone Lab

Following completion of the online coursework, a 2½ day hands-on surgical training will be completed. Each surgeon will complete implantation using a half-head and two temporal bones. One temporal bone will be mock-ossified. Each surgeon will use the three dimensional insertion force monitor with an additional pre-dissected temporal bone. The TBL will be limited to 6 participants with two instructors and two experienced assistants.

Featured Techniques:

Fixation of internal cochlear stimulator

Hearing conservation

Anatomical dissection of promontory

Adaptive cochleostomy

Trajectory of Scala tympani

3 vectors of electrode insertion

Surface preparation and drill-out

Dissection of adjacent structures

Facial nerve to geniculate

Carotid artery

Jugular bulb

Tensor semicanal

Insertion speed and force analysis

Mock-Ossified Cochleas

Printed common cavity temporal bones

Printed temporal bone of 12-month-old

Advanced Surgeons' Course Program Instructors

THOMAS J. BALKANY MD, FACS, FAAP, ASC COURSE DIRECTOR

Hotchkiss Professor and Chairman EmeritusProfessor of Neurological Surgery and PediatricsDepartment of OtolaryngologyUniversity of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Professor and DirectorCochlear Implant ProgramDepartment of OtolaryngologyUniversity of Michigan

Advanced Surgeons' CourseParticipant Reviews

I learned so much from the ICIT Advanced Surgeons’ Course. It was an amazing opportunity to gain new perspectives from master surgeons who have critically evaluated their experiences with cochlear implantation and distilled their knowledge to pass on to students in this course. I have and continue to enthusiastically recommended this course to colleagues who have an interest in cochlear implantation.

The ICIT Advanced Surgeons’ Training Course reinforces the basics of cochlear implantation in addition to teaching advanced techniques for the otologic surgeon who is already comfortable with implants. The course material is presented in a comprehensive fashion and culminates in a valuable hands-on training experience in an excellent dissection facility.

The Institute for Cochlear Implant Training program offers a comprehensive review of cochlear implant history, technology, and surgical techniques. The weekly topics are covered through in-depth lectures and are supplemented by collegial discussions with many of the leading experts in the field. It is a great course! The hands-on approach provides a unique learning environment that fosters respect for the history of cochlear implant development and motivation to further advance the field.

This course is fantastic. Even though I have had a few years of cochlear implant surgery practice and I am ending a Neuro Otology fellowship I’ve learned many new things. The syllabus is comprehensive and covers all the issues a surgeon would encounter during a cochlear implant practice. I thoroughly enjoy the weekly classes with the instructors and I’m very grateful to the personal attention Dr Balkany places in our learning. I’d recommend this course as essential to anyone planning to start or early on in their implant practice.

I am able to say with certainty that this course is unique and extremely worthwhile. I already had surgical experience with a number of CIs, but this course was invaluable to take my understanding and skills to the next level.

I can honestly say that the ICIT course has been the best course I have attended. The comprehensive lectures about the cochlear implantation, in addition to an excellent hands-on course in a great facility have made this course exceptionally unique, helpful and practical for surgeons.

Superb experience. I would rate it as one of the best learning experiences I have participated in since completing residency and fellowship. I found the course to be of tremendous value. The topics and organizational structure of the course were superb. They challenged me to think more comprehensively about cochlear implantation. The faculty were actively involved and seem genuinely interested in our professional development. While I have had experience with cochlear implantation prior to the course I found this a tremendous opportunity to refine and - in many ways - add to my current knowledge base and practice patterns. It is always of value to read or study under the influence of such esteemed and experienced faculty and this course is no exception.

The ICIT course is an outstanding opportunity for surgeons to...take their skills and knowledge to a higher level. I came in with a strong foundation from residency and neurotology fellowship, but I found the comprehensive topics covered in the course to fill many of the gaps that I didn’t even realize that I had. The course involves small group discussions, independent videos and weekly quizzes... I truly believe that my time in this course has made me a better advocate for my patients and a more skilled surgeon.

I really enjoyed every minute of our online lectures and the hands-on training. I’m really grateful I’ve had this opportunity... I do feel much more confident about CIs and am very satisfied with the knowledge I acquired. I congratulate you on this comprehensive course, on the quality of the lectures, the material, the speakers, and the hands-on training. 

— Henri Traboulsi, MD Otology Fellow, Christiana Care Medical Center

I felt I had a decent exposure to CIs during residency and fellowship but the depth and breadth of the topics covered during the course really expanded my knowledge base. I feel more complete as a physician taking care of patients with different hearing needs.

— Hernan Goldsztein, MD Pacific ENT, San Diego

Participating in the Institute for Cochlear Implant Training program has greatly expanded my knowledge of cochlear implantation. The individual lessons combined with live on-line classroom teaching with world experts provides a level of comprehension that is unobtainable from any textbook. No matter their level of expertise, I feel everyone can gain from taking this course.

The Institute for Cochlear Implant Training has given me a deeper understanding of cochlear implantation. Having a weekly opportunity to pick the brain of leading experts in the field has been priceless!

This course has been great. The online courses were nice because they made you do a little bit every week and the live web classes let us see how different people were doing things around the country and really discuss those.

The advanced cochlear implant surgeon’s training course enhanced my foundation from residency and fellowship. All of the course faculty are leaders in the field and provide quality instruction. They expand on many challenging topics which were not encountered frequently during training. I can confidently say this course improved my clinical and surgical skills and will be instrumental as I develop my implant practice.

— Terence Imbery, MD Neurotology Fellow, University of Virginia

This course reviewed the most current literature and expert opinion about a complete selection of topics. I gained insights that others appreciated over hundreds or thousands of cases that I will apply starting day 1 for my patients. This course sets a standard of knowledge and surgical skills for performance of cochlear implantation and ensures key foundations are understood, while introducing cutting edge concepts and innovations that will likely impact practice in the future. 

The ICIT training course was a great experience for me. The course was spearheaded by Dr. Thomas Balkany and other eminent guest lecturers who provide very valuable insight. The most valuable aspects of the course to me were the education on the many ways to perform a CI, what to do in challenging cases, and learning about patient selection and expected outcomes. The lab portion was very helpful.

— Ariel Grobman, MD Associate, South Florida ENT Associates

“The ICIT Advanced Surgeon’s Course was outstanding. The lectures and temporal bone course were comprehensive, and both have really helped me think about the finer details of cochlear implantation, many of which would have been difficult for me to obtain despite being in a busy fellowship. I think this is an extremely valuable course for all those performing CIs.”

“The weekly lectures were diverse and comprehensive and really enriched my understanding of cochlear implant surgery. The temporal bone experience was a great learning experience as well. I strongly recommend this course to every surgeon performing cochlear implantation.”

“I found the course to be comprehensive in covering all aspects of cochlear implantation, filling in knowledge gaps that I didn’t even realize I had. The online course material was very useful, and the temporal bone lab was important in better understanding important anatomy we don’t usually see in surgery.”